Perhaps the hype that built up Connor Bedard into a near-mythical figure during his draft year was justified after all.
After taking a small step forward during his second season, Bedard has taken a Bigfoot-sized step forward during his third season, pulling the Blackhawks along with him.
The 20-year-old forward is rapidly ascending into a small circle of the world’s best players, cementing himself as not just a future superstar but a current one. He’s looking and sounding the part now, too, having found his voice and realized he’s free to be himself on this stage.
Bedard’s two-point performance in the Hawks’ win Wednesday against his hometown Canucks moved him into a tie for ninth in the NHL in scoring with 18 points in 14 games. He’s riding a six-game point streak, having racked up 11 of them (including his first career hat trick) during that span.
Hawks general manager Kyle Davidson called these “the best games he’s played in the NHL,” echoing the thoughts of everyone else watching. Bedard is taking over one shift after another, making his presence felt constantly.
“Connor has been consistently … committed to winning hockey,” coach Jeff Blashill said Wednesday. “He’s competed extraordinarily hard. He’s done all the winning things. He hasn’t been perfect, but man, he’s done a lot of good winning hockey habits.
“He has been rewarded offensively because of it, and we’ve been rewarded as a team because of it. [I’m] really impressed with the approach he’s taken all season long.”
Bedard’s notable stats go on and on. Since Oct. 17, he’s tied for second in the league with 40 shots on goal, trailing only Nathan MacKinnon. He added another five shots Wednesday (on 13 attempts).
Looking at five-on-five play, since the Hawks’ power play has been iffy, Bedard is tied for fifth with 11 points this season, two back of the league lead.
He’s definitely better at faceoffs, diminishing that weakness. He has won a healthy 51.9% of his draws over the last 12 games since struggling on the opening trip.
He’s definitely faster, proving his offseason work on his skating paid off. He has already recorded five speed bursts faster than 22 mph, a threshold he never reached last season. He has 51 bursts faster than 20 mph, so he’s going to blow past his total of 70 last season. He ranks third among NHL forwards with 42.4 cumulative miles skated.
He’s also taking advantage of that newfound speed, altering his mental calculations of who he can outrace on the rush and which loose pucks he can reach first. An example is his assist to Andre Burakovsky on Monday, when he chipped the puck ahead through the neutral zone and still beat Kraken defensemen Vince Dunn and Adam Larsson to it.
GOAL: Andre Burakovsky finally gets the Blackhawks on the board. Great effort from Bedard to set it up pic.twitter.com/Jld5olLNk5
— BHF (@BlackhawksFocus) November 4, 2025
And Bedard is definitely more well-rounded, giving full effort defensively and/or away from the puck and demonstrating improved skills in those regards. Blashill deserves credit for talking to him frequently all summer long about the importance of that.
He’s hustling on the backcheck, hounding puck-carriers, getting crafty in board battles and simply outworking — in addition to out-talenting — most opponents.
Plus-minus is a flawed stat, but the contrast between his rating this season (plus-seven) and the past two seasons (minus-80) is eye-opening. His deeper analytics (like expected-goals ratio) remain oddly mediocre, but it sounds like the Hawks’ internal analytics are more flattering.
The one rival Bedard isn’t gaining ground on is Macklin Celebrini, who has also taken a Bigfoot-sized step this season and finds himself tied with Connor McDavid for the league scoring lead with 21 points.
There’s no rule preventing both Bedard and Celebrini from becoming superstars, though — and it appears likely both will, in fact. Neither the Hawks nor Sharks would complain about an arms race between them elevating both into the stratosphere.
